Thrashers, True North in talks

Atlanta Thrashers owner Michael Gearon told Atlanta TV station Fox 5 on Thursday, May 26, 2011 that a deal with True North Sports and Entertainment, which would buy the franchise and move it to Winnipeg, is “About 80% complete.” (QMI files)

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A Winnipeg man tantalizingly close to landing an NHL franchise, and an Atlanta group desperate to get out of the game.

True North’s Mark Chipman, whose tried and true methods have curried plenty of favour with league brass, and the Atlanta Spirit, which doesn’t have any left. Spirit or favour, it appears.

How can this match made in hockey heaven (or hell, depending on where you live) not result in a sale and relocation of the Thrashers to Winnipeg?

Word broke Monday, first in a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and later confirmed to QMI Agency by a league source requesting anonymity, that True North and the Atlanta Spirit are in negotiations.

To say this is the beginning of the process, though, wouldn’t be accurate.

The truth is True North’s affection for the Thrashers was documented as far back as October, 2009.

The legwork done then, and subsequent talks between Chipman and the NHL over the wobbling Phoenix Coyotes, who almost needed a soft spot to land themselves, should have covered many of the bases.

The NHL has been busy covering others, like next year’s schedule.

Like it did a year ago with Phoenix and Winnipeg, the league has been crafting alternate schedules, one with Atlanta on it, and one, for the first time in 15 years, with Winnipeg.

A spokesman for True North said the organization wouldn’t confirm or deny any of this, while NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly declined comment.

The man trying to co-ordinate the Thrashers sale, club president Don Waddell, said they “continue to explore all our options regarding the future of the Thrashers.”

Those options appear limited.

True North may not have exclusivity in its dealings with Atlanta ownership, but it’s close.

As recently as late last week, Thrashers co-owner Bruce Levenson said the group had made no progress in finding a buyer willing to keep the team in Atlanta, where it’s losing an average $20 million per season.

The Journal-Constitution Monday reported a locally oriented group was in talks as well, but it’s awfully late for a new player in this game.

“They are working with a short window,” the league source told us.

A window that closes this week? Next? Hazard your own guess.

Even Thrashers players recognize the urgency

“Could be a crazy week with all this winnipeg talk,” was the comment on forward Evander Kane’s Twitter account. “Looking forward to see how it all goes down.”

Previous reports indicate it could go down as follows: True North paying $170 million for the franchise, with $110 million going to the Spirit, $60 million to the NHL in the form of a relocation fee.

The effect on the league’s alignment is potentially more complex.

We’re told the Detroit Red Wings want to move into the Eastern Conference, as does Columbus. The league is more likely to appease the Wings in that choice.

Geographically, though, Nashville could easily take Atlanta’s place in the Southeast Division, opening a spot in the Central Division of the West.

Mind you, Winnipeg is best suited for the Northwest.

Time may be too short for a realignment in time for next season.

And given the I-didn’t-see-that-one-coming moments in this saga over the months (years?), this talk is all a little premature.

Talks between Chipman and the Atlanta Spirit, on the other hand, are long overdue. Serious ones, at least.

With the league’s Phoenix distraction on the back-burner, they’ve obviously begun.